WEEK 20 REPORT: SKID SNAPPED, ROAD TRIP AHEAD

BACON BITS
The Rockford IceHogs extended their season high-tying skid to four straight games with a pair of losses against Cleveland last week, before snapping the streak with a 4-3 win over San Antonio on Sunday...Rockford is now 26-22-3-3 on the season and ranked sixth in the Central Division...Manitoba leads the division with a .683 winning percentage, but the IceHogs are separated from second-place Grand Rapids by just five points and a .057 winning percentage.

The IceHogs have allowed 3+ goals in seven of the last nine games since Jan. 27...Opponents have scored 5+ goals three times in that span and combined for 34 total goals over the last nine contests...Rockford is allowing an average of 3.8 goals per game over that stretch.

Rookie Nathan Noel made his AHL debut last week on Feb. 13 vs. Cleveland and scored his first AHL goal in his third appearance with the IceHogs on Sunday (Feb. 18) against the Rampage...Noel’s marker was the game-winner in a 4-3 victory vs. San Antonio...The forward originally made his pro debut with the Indy Fuel this season and collected nine points (4g, 5a) in 17 games prior to his promotion to the IceHogs.

With Noel’s goal on Sunday, 10 different rookies have scored a goal for the Hogs in 2017-18...Of those 10 rookies, eight have produced double-digit points on the year, and four have amassed 20+ points (Matthew Highmore, Anthony Louis, Tyler Sikura and William Pelletier).

Adam Clendening picked up an assist on Sunday to move within one point of Rockford’s all-time scoring and assists records for a team defenseman...Clendening trails only Brian Connelly’s 134 points and 110 assists for the team record.

Henrik Samuelsson signed a PTO with the IceHogs on Feb. 11 and has scored a goal in each of his first three games with the Hogs...He led the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads in scoring through 49 games this season prior to joining Rockford.

Matthew Highmore has notched assists in a season-high three straight games...The rookie leads the IceHogs in scoring with 34 points (20g, 14a) in 54 games.

UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, Feb. 23 | Rockford at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (6:05 p.m.) The IceHogs travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the first-ever matchup between the two clubs. The Hogs play two games against the Penguins this season, traveling to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday before hosting the team at the BMO Harris Bank Center on March 3.

Saturday, Feb. 24 | Rockford at Hershey (6 pm.) Rockford caps a two-game road trip with its second and final game of the 2017-18 series with the Hershey Bears. The IceHogs blanked the Bears 5-0 in the series opener on Oct. 22 in Rockford.